Top 50 Greatest Heroes and Villains Arts and Entertainment > Movies and Videos Top 50 Greatest Heroes and Villains The following table lists the top 50 greatest heroes and villians in film history, according to the American Film Institute, including James Bond, Indiana Jones, Norman Bates, Hannibal Lecter, and more. Rank Atticus Finch, To Kill a Mockingbird Dr. Hannibal Lecter, The Silence of the Lambs 2. Indiana Jones, Raiders of the Lost Ark Norman Bates, Psycho Darth Vader, The Empire Strikes Back 4. The Wicked Witch of the West, The Wizard of Oz 5. Nurse Ratched, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest 6. Clarice Starling, The Silence of the Lambs Mr. Potter, It's a Wonderful Life 7. George Bailey, It's a Wonderful Life Regan MacNeil, The Exorcist T. E. Lawrence, Lawrence of Arabia The Queen, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 11. Jefferson Smith, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington Michael Corleone, The Godfather: Part II 12.

Tom Joad, The Grapes of Wrath Alex De Large, A Clockwork Orange 13. HAL 9000, 2001: A Space Odyssey 14. AFI's Top 10 Heroes And Villains Movie News AFI's Top 10 Heroes And Villains If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. remove this ad by registering The Forum Exclusives section will be closing (at least partially), and no longer require a paid membership. A lot of the older, larger files will be purged as we just don't have the space to host or serve them anymore. This will begin on July 28th. Until then, Forum Exclusives is free to everyone to grab what they need/want before the purge begins. Results 1 to 14 of 14 CBS had a special: \"A.F.I.\'s 100 Years, 100 Greatest Heroes & Villains\".

These are the top 10 heroes & villains from the special. Heroes: 1.) Atticus Finch from ï¿½To Kill A Mockingbirdï¿½ 2.) Indiana Jones from ï¿½Indiana Jones & the Temple of Doomï¿½ 3.) James Bond from ï¿½Dr. Noï¿½ to ï¿½Die Another Dayï¿½ 4.) Rick Blaine from ï¿½Casablancaï¿½ 5.) Will Kane from ï¿½High Noonï¿½ 6.) Clarice Starling from ï¿½Silence of the Lambsï¿½ 7.) Rocky Balboa from ï¿½Rockyï¿½ 8.) Ellen Ripley from ï¿½Aliensï¿½ 9.) George Bailey from ï¿½Itï¿½s a Wonderful Lifeï¿½ 10.) T.E.

Lawrence from ï¿½Lawrence Of Arabiaï¿½ Villains: 1.) Hannibal Lecter from ï¿½Silence of the Lambsï¿½ 2.) Norman Bates from ï¿½Psychoï¿½ 3.) Darth Vader from ï¿½Star Warsï¿½ 4.) The Wicked Witch of the West from ï¿½The Wizard of Ozï¿½ 5.) Nurse Ratched from ï¿½One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nestï¿½ 6.) Mr.

Potter from ï¿½Itï¿½s a Wonderful Lifeï¿½ 7.) Alex Forrest from ï¿½Fatal Attractionï¿½ 8.) Phyllis Dietrichson from ï¿½Double Indemnityï¿½ 9.) Regan MacNeil from ï¿½The Exorcistï¿½ 10.) The Queen from ï¿½Snow White & The 7 Dwarfsï¿½ Ellen Ripley in a galaxie far far away Posts Heroes: Indiana Jones, Han Solo & Will Kane (from "High Noon"); Villain: don't worry Jedi Master, it's Darth Vader ; Montrï¿½al, Quï¿½bec Posts 1,065 Pretty good list, but I'd like to know how they put it up. I mean, is it a survey, from caracteristics or simply opinions of a guy or two.... cause the Joker is not there and HE is the best vilain... and Zorro , where is Zorro in all that, THE heroe of all heroes? D.

Mc'lawns, The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist.--Verbal Kint, Usual Suspect 1,079 Originally posted by dmclawns Pretty good list, but I'd like to know how they put it up. I mean, is it a survey, from caracteristics or simply opinions of a guy or two... From The American Film Institute (AFI) has announced "AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains" which aired this Tuesday night and was hosted by T3's Arnold Schwarzenegger. "AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains" did a countdown to America's 50 greatest heroes and 50 greatest villains in film, as chosen by experts of the motion picture community, in a three-hour television event on the CBS Television Network. Here is the complete list: Top 50 Heroes 1. Atticus Finch (Gregory Peck), "To Kill a Mockingbird." 2. Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford), "Raiders of the Lost Ark." 3. James Bond (Sean Connery), "Dr. No." 4.

Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), "Casablanca." 5. Will Kane (Gary Cooper), "High Noon." 6. Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster), "The Silence of the Lambs." 7. Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone), "Rocky." 8. Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), "Aliens." 9. George Bailey (James Stewart), "It's a Wonderful Life." 10. T.E. Lawrence (Peter O'Toole), "Lawrence of Arabia." 11. Jefferson Smith (James Stewart), "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington." 12. Tom Joad (Henry Fonda), "The Grapes of Wrath." 13. Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson), "Schindler's List." 14. Han Solo (Harrison Ford), "Star Wars." 15. Norma Rae Webster (Sally Field), "Norma Rae." 16. Shane (Alan Ladd), "Shane." 17. Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood), "Dirty Harry." 18.

Robin Hood (Errol Flynn), "The Adventures of Robin Hood." 19. Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier), "In the Heat of the Night." 20. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, (Paul Newman and Robert Redford), "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid." 21. Mahatma Gandhi (Ben Kingsley), "Gandhi." 22. Spartacus (Kirk Douglas), "Spartacus." 23. Terry Malloy (Marlon Brando), "On the Waterfront." 24. Thelma Dickinson and Louise Sawyer (Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon), "Thelma and Louise." 25. Lou Gehrig (Gary Cooper), "The Pride of the Yankees." 26. Superman (Christopher Reeve), "Superman." 27. Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein (Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman), "All the President's Men." 28. Juror No. 8 (Henry Fonda), "12 Angry Men." 29. Gen. George Patton (George C. Scott), "Patton." 30.

Luke Jackson (Paul Newman), "Cool Hand Luke." 31. Erin Brockovich (Julia Roberts), "Erin Brockovich." 32. Philip Marlowe (Humphrey Bogart), "The Big Sleep." 33. Marge Gunderson (Frances McDormand), "Fargo." 34. Tarzan (Johnny Weissmuller), "Tarzan the Ape Man." 35. Alvin York (Gary Cooper), "Sergeant York." 36. Rooster Cogburn (John Wayne), "True Grit." 37. Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness), "Star Wars." 38. The Tramp (Charles Chaplin), "City Lights." 39. Lassie (Pal the dog), "Lassie Come Home." 40. Frank Serpico (Al Pacino), "Serpico." 41. Arthur Chipping (Robert Donat), "Goodbye, Mr. Chips." 42. Father Edward Flanagan (Spencer Tracy), "Boys Town." 43.

Moses (Charlton Heston), "The Ten Commandments." 44. Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle (Gene Hackman), "The French Connection." 45. Zorro (Tyrone Power), "The Mark of Zorro." 46. Batman (Michael Keaton), "Batman." 47. Karen Silkwood (Meryl Streep), "Silkwood." 48. The Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger), "Terminator 2: Judgment Day." 49. Andrew Beckett (Tom Hanks), "Philadelphia." 50. Maximus (Russell Crowe), "Gladiator." Top 50 Villains 1. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), "The Silence of the Lambs." 2. Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins), "Psycho." 3. Darth Vader (David Prowse, voiced by James Earl Jones), "The Empire Strikes Back." 4. The Wicked Witch of the West (Margaret Hamilton), "The Wizard of Oz." 5. Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher), "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." 6. Mr.

Potter (Lionel Barrymore), "It's a Wonderful Life." 7. Alex Forrest (Glenn Close), "Fatal Attraction." 8. Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck), "Double Indemnity." 9. Regan MacNeil (Linda Blair), "The Exorcist." 10. The Queen (voiced by Lucille LaVerne), "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." 11. Michael Corleone (Al Pacino), "The Godfather Part II." 12. Alex DeLarge (Malcolm McDowell), "A Clockwork Orange." 13. HAL 9000 (voiced by Douglas Rain), "2001: A Space Odyssey." 14. The Alien (Bolaji Badejo), "Alien." 15. Amon Goeth (Ralph Fiennes), "Schindler's List." 16. Noah Cross (John Huston), "Chinatown." 17. Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates), "Misery." 18. The Shark, "Jaws." 19.

Captain Bligh (Charles Laughton), "Mutiny on the Bounty." 20. Man, "Bambi." PunctualDork — Top 10: Actors Who Play Heroes Top 10: Actors Who Play Heroes The main point I aimed to make with the Top 10: Actors Who Play Villains list was that the best film identities are products of their actor’s delivery. The movie going public is constantly flooded with numerous protagonists, antagonists, and deuteragonists, but the only characters that stand out are those that are played by powerful actors This list aims to find the best actors who theatrically play heroes as well as their finest heroic roles. As you’ll see, some of the greatest heroic performances stem for the strongest actors. 10. Christian Bale Christian Bale is a very passionate actor. Sure he’s known for being a temperamental diva and overemotional jerk (if you haven’t heard the audio from his Terminator: Salvation freak out, I highly recommend you google it), but he’s quite good in almost every role he takes on.

He’s been a newsie, Jesus of Nazareth, a serial killer/businessman, mankind’s salvation against the machines, and the one guy that no one likes in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, but no role has stuck out for this versatile actor quite as much as his stint as Gotham City’s Dark Knight. Best Heroic Performance: Batman Begins Allow me to start by stating that this will be the only appearance of a superhero on this list. Fans of Superman, Spiderman, Iron Man, and the Avengers be damned, no other superhero is able to demonstrate such a range of emotional depth and humanity while still remaining heroic. The reason? Batman - unlike other superheroes - isn’t a genius or mutant, nor does he have any superpowers to speak of. He’s just a rich kid who chose to do good and no actor plays the role of Batman better than Christian Bale (except maybe Kevin Conroy from Batman: The Animated Series). Batman Begins’ Dark Knight was a flawed character. Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne was muscular and cunning, but constantly required the help of others (Alfred, Ra’s al Ghul, Rachel, Gordon, etc.).

It’s easy to mock some of his overbearing line deliveries (“I’m Batman” comes to mind), but I would say that Bale delivered the most relatable and realistic portrayal of Gotham’s defender yet. I only hope that his return in The Dark Knight Rises will impress. 9. Mark Hamill Mark Hamill doesn’t exactly have a memorable career. While he’s known far and wide for his portrayal of Luke Skywalker in the ‘good’ Star Wars trilogy, he hasn’t really done much in an acting capacity since Return of the Jedi. Yes - he was the Joker in the highly acclaimed Batman: The Animated Series (I’m so pleased that I had the opportunity to mention one of my favorite children’s series more than once in an article), but his big screen career pretty much begins and ends with a lightsabre. So why is he on this list? The answer is simple, Mr. Hamill happens to be one of the most grounded and relatable actors in contemporary science fiction. The reason why Star Wars is so engaging despite featuring multiple alien races, unrealistic technology, and a completely original setting is that we have an everyman to attach ourselves to.

Without his stalwart performance, we likely wouldn’t accept our surroundings and one of the greatest trilogies ever produced wouldn’t have the same impact. Best Heroic Performance: Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back I’m sure there will be some detractors to this opinion, but I am of firm belief that Empire Strikes Back is the best Star Wars film (due in no small part to Hamill’s performance). Our heroes face many challenges in Episode V; the Rebel forces are demolished by the Empire at the Battle of Hoth, Luke faces his Dark Side and unintentionally reconnects with his estranged Father (losing his hand in the process), assumed ally Lando leads the Rebels into a trap, Han Solo is captured and frozen in carbonite, the Millenium Falcon is on the fritz, and C-3PO is left in pieces. While all of this makes for great drama, the real sweet spot of the film is how Luke (and the audience) grow through this adversity. While he trains with Yoda to understand the nature of the Force, we see him lean more about himself and progress as a character. Simultaneously, the audience celebrates his many successes and feels each of his lows.

This represents the brilliance of Hamill’s performance and the character structure of Star Wars (in the original trilogy); rather than dropping exposition as to why things are the way they are, we the audience is encouraged to attach to Skywalker and let him discover the universe for us. Regardless of where his career stands now, fans of the series should be thankful for Mark Hamill’s approach to the character of Luke Skywalker. Without it, I fear that the original Star Wars trilogy would have been as muddled and confusing as David Lynch’s Dune, Andrei Tarkovsky’s Solaris, or Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. 8. Sigourney Weaver There are some people in this world that you just shouldn’t mess with; a pissed off Sigourney Weaver is one of them (especially if she’s wearing a power loader). Not only can she be downright frightening when faced with adversity, but this fine actress also has the ability to play a strong character while remaining sympathetic. In a variety of her roles, she has been able to play various heroines as being driven, tactful, tender, and determined, without a loss of perceived realism.

Weaver stands out as an actress due to her knack for getting inside the minds of her characters and humanizing them for the audience. Not every role she plays is perfect, but it’s hard to not admire most of her performances. Best Heroic Performance: Aliens While Alien is considered to be her breakout role, Weaver’s popularity exploded upon the release of Aliens. Her portrayal of Ripley not only created a memorable big-screen hero, but it also broke down gender barriers in the action film world and netted her an Oscar nomination (making her one of the few actresses to be honored for both an action-driven role and a sci-fi-based story). The brilliance of her performance in this film derives from her understanding of the character. This woman who survived a horrific experience in space, comes back fifty years later, attempts to warn society about this evil, is dismissed, and eventually is sent back out to fight this thing again in the name of people who lied to her. Had Weaver not fully understood this character’s mind frame, her performance wouldn’t be as genuine (and tragic) as it is. When she’s been wronged the audience gets offended and when she succeeds we feel her triumph. This is Sigourney Weaver at her finest. 7.

Jodie Foster If you were to compare Jodie Foster’s movie appearances to other leading ladies, it would seem as though she doesn’t appear in feature films too often. This can be attributed to Foster’s preference for quality over quantity; what she lacks in roles she makes up for memorable performances. Taxi Driver and The Silence of the Lambs would have been nothing without her standout performances and Panic Room demonstrated that (astonishingly) she still has ticket-selling power more than 35 years into her career. Not only is Foster one of my favorite actresses, but she’s also received four Oscar nominations, multiple Critic’s Association nods, and was the first woman to win two Academy Awards before the age of 30. She’s appeared in a variety of roles, but history (and the Academy) his demonstrated that this big screen sweetheart is at her best when she plays the hero. Best Heroic Performance: The Silence of the Lambs I think most people will agree that Jodie Foster’s presence in this thriller has improved over time.

Back in 1991, the buzz around Hollywood was how mesmerising and intense Sir Anthony Hopkins’ performance as Hannibal Lecter was (a performance that earned him a spot on our Top 10: Actors Who Play Villains list). Unsurprisingly, most people were attributing the film’s success to the face eating villain and Foster was getting little-to-no coverage at the time - despite delivering the performance of a lifetime as FBI-upstart Clarice Starling. That said, nothing has been more glaringly noticeable in the release of subsequent sequels as Foster’s absence. Hannibal, Red Dragon, and Hannibal Rising fall apart as films because they lack a dynamic protagonist and tone balance. The Silence of the Lambs is a strong film because of Foster’s relatability, character approach, and witty repartee which act as a binding force to the many moving pieces of this story. Had she opted to appear in later entries in the series, the name ‘Hannibal’ might not have fallen into obscurity. 6.

Sean Connery It’s no secret that Sean Connery is widely considered to be one of the greatest Bonds in 007 history, but that’s not the only reason why he’s making an appearance on this list. Connery has played an uncanny amount of heroes. Whether he’s Robin Hood, a giant talking dragon, Juan Sanchez Villa-Lobos Ramirez, or the titular Zardoz (if you’ve never heard of Zardoz, be sure to google it and have a good chuckle at Connery’s attire), he always delivers a wise, clever, and genuinely engaging hero for the audience to attach themselves to. There have been many leading men (as there have been many different Bonds) before and after his time, but no one seems to do ‘sauve’ quite as well as him. Men everywhere idolise Connery’s natural charm and I’m sure many women are still smitten by him. Best Heroic Performance: From Russia With Love I love a good Bond film and in my mind this is Connery’s finest performance as the international man of mystery. Focusing on Bond’s stylishness and sophistication while toning down his cold-bloodedness, this outing revels in the Cold War paranoia of the times.

Connery’s Bond is expected to employ his womanizing nature, hand-to-hand combat skills, and quick wit in order to obtain a decoding device from the Russians. In terms of motivation, it might sound mundane, but it represents a clear division between the Bond films of Connery’s era and those that followed. Later entries in the series are made worse through an overreliance on gadgets, cardboard-thin villains, campy one-liners, and a scary lack of directorial vision, but early films in this cherished franchise relied on Connery and his natural charisma to engage the audience and propel the plot. It represents a minimalist approach and only works because Connery is a strong actor and a great hero. 5. Harrison Ford No contemporary action film star is quite as iconic as Harrison Ford. This dashing gentleman has portrayed the President, a hotshot attorney, a rugged police officer, a hardboiled detective, a staunch (and violent) patriot, a wrongly convicted surgeon, a scruffy space smuggler, and a swashbuckling treasure hunter, all in the name of good old fashioned action. By taking on so many similar roles, Ford was essentially groomed into becoming an perpetual action hero.

Normally I really hate typecasting (I’m sure he must as well), but in this case it definitely works. Audiences immediately warm to Ford because we instinctually recognize him as the good guy. His characters are known for their dexterity, resourcefulness, cunning, charm, and unwillingness to back down. It’s a role he plays often, but his effectiveness is never diminished by redundancy. Best Heroic Performance: Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark I’m sure fans of Han “Scruffy Nerf Herder” Solo are probably grumbling with this choice, but I chose Indy for a reason. Indiana Jones is the epitome of what all men want to be - handsome, intelligent, promiscuous, wealthy, adventurous, charming, violent, and (most importantly) heroic. That said, Indiana Jones’ character wouldn’t have been the same without Harrison Ford. The first Indy outing wasn’t originally titled “Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark”; Spielberg and Lucas had no idea that Indy’s character would become such a phenomenon.

It was assumed by the filmmakers that Indy would simply be a representation of the average 1950’s action cereal hero, but Ford took those concepts and grounded the character to a point of relatability. The audience identifies him as an avatar for what they want to be (rather than just an unrealistic construct) because Ford made an effort to infuse humanity into the role. As a result Raiders of the Lost Ark became the first entry in a cherished franchise. 4. John Wayne This Academy Award-winner was among the top box office draws for over three decades and was at one point named the all-time money-making star. An enduring American icon (who was formally recognized by the U.S. government for his status), Wayne was famous for the way he walked, talked, and commanded a room. He rose beyond the typical recognition of celebrity to that of an enduring icon who symbolized and communicated American ideals. Wayne had developed a larger-than-life image and as his career progressed he selected roles that would not compromise his off-screen image. At one point, when a role required him to shoot a person while their back was turned, he declined - requesting that the script be changed to accommodate a more honorable action.

He didn’t like playing the bad guy, and as you might imagine, he’s played the all-American hero more than once. Best Heroic Performance: True Grit True Grit a very stylish film based on an acclaimed Western novel. The murder of a girl’s Father sends her on a mission of “justice” to avenge her father’s death. She recruits Wayne’s Rooster Cogburn because he has “grit” and a reputation of getting the job done. The film benefits greatly from having an icon play such a rough and unusual hero. Wayne dons an eye-patch and kicks butt throughout the film, while still maintaining tenants of the all-American lifestyle (honor, justice, bravery, and truth). His performance was so compelling that he received an Academy Award and True Grit became a runaway success. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the 2010 big screen adaptation by the Coen brothers. While their True Grit was indeed an excellent film (and a massive commercial success), Jeff Bridges just couldn’t fill the wide shoes of John Wayne. 3. Liam Neeson Liam Neeson is the posterboy for making the most of what you have.

Before this cinematic giant hit it big, he was just a ruggedly handsome Irishman who wanted to become a teacher. His natural charm and peak physical condition are what catapulted him into the mainstream, but he made his cinematic mark in roles of mentorship and heroism. Neeson has captivated audiences everywhere as a stalwart Jedi Knight, holocaust hero, martial artist, pissed-off father/ex-CIA agent, priest, post-apocalyptic scientist, Zeus, Vigilante, Medieval Knight, and Jesus-allegory Lion. If there’s a heroic role, Neeson has likely played it before. Best Heroic Performance: Schindler’s List The portrayal of Holocaust hero Oskar Schindler solidified Liam Neeson’s status a top tier actor and earned him an Academy Award nomination. The brilliance of Neeson’s performance is that he doesn’t play the Jewish hero as a saint; the audience understands Schindler to be a war profiteer (something less-than-heroic), but unlike his Nazi peers he chooses to ignore higher powers and disregard the party’s anti-semitic ways in order to extend empathy to a group that desperately needed it.

Without Neeson’s approach, Spielberg’s Oskar Schindler would have appeared flippant or self-serving, but instead our hero seems flawed enough to be real. Some would say that Oskar Schindler was nothing more than a philanthropic businessman, but Neeson’s performance in this film portrays him more like Spiderman in the guise of Peter Parker. It’s a unique approach with a powerful message, due in no small part this Irishman’s delivery. 2. Gregory Peck Societal paragon of 1950s America, Gregory Peck was known far and wide for his efforts both on the stage and off. While he’s a noted Academy Award-winner, Peck was also named the 12th Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute, inducted into the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame, and awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Lyndon Johnson for his lifetime humanitarian efforts. Peck wasn’t just a fantastic actor, he was also style trendsetter and perpetual volunteer/philanthropist.

As you can imagine, playing a good person on the big screen isn’t too much of a stretch if you’re already genuinely nice guy (and Peck played more than a handful of heroes). Best Heroic Performance: To Kill a Mockingbird Who doesn’t love Atticus Finch? Not only is he a single father with a heart of gold, but he goes out of his way to defend a black prison escapee in a time where racism was extremely rampant. Gregory Peck’s Atticus, is a town lawyer who has the strong belief that all people are to be treated fairly, that you should to turn the other cheek when given the opportunity, and that everyone should stand for what they believe. He represents both revolution and enlightenment to his coming-of-age children (he even allows them to refer to him by his first name) while also acting as the film’s moral compass. Numerous people have said before and after Gregory Peck’s passing, that he and Atticus Finch were one and the same. It would appear that sometimes the best performances are ones that aren’t performances at all. 1. Clint Eastwood Clint Eastwood is one of the finest entertainers of our time.

Over the past sixty years, he’s been involved in over ninety film productions and directed thirty films. A Western TV star by thirty, and a top-billing movie star by thirty-five, Eastwood has appeared on the Quigley poll of top box-office draws more than any other actor, save John Wayne. No stranger to the role of the hero, this legend of cinema has promoted classical American tenants, popularised boogie-woogie piano in action films, and actually increased sales of the .44 magnum pistol. Women everywhere wanted him (he’s fathered at least seven children with five women) and men wanted to be him (his dialogue is noted as being among the most quoted within popular culture - usually by guys trying to look tough). By making the conscious decision early on in his career to focus on roles that represented his belief system, he has become one of the most notable heroes of post-classical cinema. Best Heroic Performance: Dirty Harry Dirty Harry is likely Clint Eastwood’s most memorable character (without whom the “loose-cannon cop” archetype likely wouldn’t exist). Eastwood’s Harry Callahan is ruthless in his apprehension of criminals and unwelcoming in a time of detrimental bureaucracy.

In this crime thriller, City Hall is covered in red tape, has a tendency of letting dangerous murderers loose, and obstructs Harry’s particular brand of justice on a regular basis, but when the Zodiac Killer starts killing people at random, the higher-ups put Harry on the case due to his unusual methods and history of getting results. Dirty Harry is more or less an evolution of the classic John Wayne hero image, set in a more tumultuous period. The film (like Eastwood’s character) is tight, graphic, and absolutely brutal, but has an air of justice and is absolutely engaging. Not only is this Eastwood’s finest performance, it is also him at his most heroic. My Twitter feed has been flooded by a lot of these bad boys: Notice the time listed? People are burning through Final Fantasy XV. Or at least the main quest. It could be argued that this was the intention of the developers. That there is such a wealth of post-game content that you should fly through the campaign before you bite into Final Fantasy XV’s meat. I can see that. Only problem is that so many of the side missions are low-level and if you ignore them in favour of the main questline you’ll be way too over-powered and bored by them afterwards.

I’ve heard tell of people “completing” Final Fantasy XV in 22 hours. If you’re good at phasing or warping in combat and focus on only upgrading a few techniques and branches of the Ascension Grid it is totally possible to complete the main questline quickly, often around level 38-40 (45 is the recommended level). Still, what are you really gaining from that experience? Final Fantasy XV may not have the most perfectly structured central plot, but it is a series with some legitimate depth to its lore. I don’t use the term “series” lightly, either. To fully appreciate the world of Eos you’ll get to explore you will have to play A King’s Tale: Final Fantasy XV, watch Brotherhood: Final Fantasy XV and Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV, read a prologue novella, and - yes - do all of the side quests in Final Fantasy XV. In fact, I’d even go so far as to recommend examining every single object that command prompts allow to get a better feel of what’s going on. Square Enix didn’t just make a game with a defined start and end point; the developer clearly put a lot of resources into building a believable world.

Maybe even at the cost of Final Fantasy XV’s narrative cohesion. To that point though, speeding through questions just to “complete” the game and move on to your next backlog title is totally wrong-headed. From my own experience, Final Fantasy XV is best enjoyed like a fine whiskey; slowly, with ample time to explore pairings. Like bouncing between main quests, side quests, camping, sight-seeing, and fishing. Why overdose on disparate narrative events and allow that to inform your opinion on the game when instead you can take as much time as you need to become one with all of the areas, mechanics, and events? It boggles my mind. Hopefully you haven’t rushed to complete Final Fantasy XV. If you are currently pushing yourself as fast as possible from one end of Eos to the other, I would kindly encourage you to stop and slow down. You may enjoy the view you had previously been missing. My thoughts on the DCU Nobody wants to make a bad film. Before I say anything, I should be clear about that. The studio wants something that will resonate with audiences, the actors want to make their characters feel real, and (ideally) the director wants to bring forward a message. So far, DC & Warner Bros.

haven’t figured out the formula to make that happen. Historical context is important though, kids. I’m not about to make declarative statements of quality without giving you something to chew on first. I figure the best way to look at the DC movies is in eras: THE GOLDEN AGE Films: Batman (Adam West), Superman I-IV, Supergirl, Swamp Thing Synopsis: Campy, mostly low budget films with generally lighthearted stories. Dated special effects. Charmingly nostalgic, but also shallow. Worthwhile for Superman and the Richard Donner cut of Superman II. THE RADICAL 90s Films: Batman, Batman Returns, Batman Forever, Batman & Robin, Steel Synopsis: Tonally ranging from dark and gritty to cartoonish and campy, the Batman movies start strong. The changeover in quality and characters from Burtin to Schumacher is stark, but a lighter tone was more marketable to kids. Steel, however, is a box office disaster. DC Movies are put on the back burner. THE DARK TIMES I Films: Catwoman, Constantine, V for Vendetta, Superman Returns, Batman Begins Synopsis: Failure, largely.

Catwoman was a colossal failure that Halle Berry’s career has yet to recover from (though she accepted a golden raspberry in person, so that’s pretty cool). Constantine hit home with audiences, but not comic readers or critics. Superman Returns also failed to revitalize the man in tights, leading to him being put on the back burner (AGAIN!). V for Vendetta and Batman Begins, however, will well received. Not perfect movies or blockbusters, per se, but still a step in the right direction. THE DARK TIMES II Films: The Dark Knight, Watchman, The Losers, Jonah Hex, Green Lantern, The Dark Knight Returns Synopsis: Failure, again. The remainder of the Nolan trilogy of Batman movies continue to raise the bar and impress, but everything else DC touches turns to crap. The Losers received mixed reviews and limited returns, Jonah Hex was a box office disaster, Green Lantern and Watchmen had poor reception and failed to return total production + marketing costs. THE SNYDERVERSE Films: Man of Steel, Batman vs Superman, Suicide Squad. Synopsis: Middling financial success with a landslide of critical derision.

These movies have been polarizing to say the least, but outside of looking very good they don’t hold up. The characters lack development. The plots don’t make too much sense either. See what I did there? The Dark Times were the Nolan trilogy? No? Hear me out. So, let’s pretend that you are a WB executive with the responsibility of creating a calendar of future releases that will effectively use your IPs while at the same time raking in the dough for you, DC, and the many advertising partners you have (Pepsico, Doritos, Turkish Airlines, etc.). You examine the history of the DC movies and say to yourself: “Marvel is already way ahead and we need to get our own universe together. We need a new starting point for the universe and it needs to take the best of our previous DC movies.” Naturally, you say “let’s start with Superman,” and think to yourself “the Nolan films were definitely the best.” And they were! However, in thinking this you have cast a shadow over all future movies that dictates how they are going to look and feel.

The problem, as I see it, is that crib notes were taken of what worked for the Christopher Nolan Batman movies and those elements were forced into Man of Steel. Which doesn’t make any sense when you think about it. All of the villains and heroes in Nolan’s trilogy are firmly grounded in the real world. That’s actually why the films work as non-superhero movies. There are no magical powers or alien technology or mystic origins. It’s dark, it’s gritty, and it’s real. In trying to fit Superman – an alien with god-like powers who fights mostly non-earth type threats through the powers gifted to him by the sun – and throwing him into an ultra-realistic setting… well, DC made a gigantic mistake. Did anyone actually read a Superman comic? Superman isn’t Batman. He isn’t a brooding hero who feels as though his powers are a burden. Rescuing people from danger isn’t seen as an obligation to him. He doesn’t resent human beings for being scared of him either. Let’s get all that out of the way. Superman is meant to inspire. To be a beacon of hope. To push us lowly humans to be better to each other and strangers alike.

He isn’t an amazing hero because of all of his near-omnipotent powers. He’s amazing because he has all that power and would rather refrain from using it. Absolute power that doesn’t corrupt. That’s what makes him beautiful. I get that a post-911 Superman would make governments and citizens alike paranoid and nervous, but he wouldn’t have to be positioned that way in these movies if the final 48 minutes of Man of Steel weren’t of him co-destroying an inhabited area AND THEN SNAPPING THE NECK OF HIS ENEMY. Doesn’t sound much like Superman to me at all, to be honest. THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM While he may be an interesting director of photography, some blame for the current state of the DCU needs to be pushed on Zack Snyder. I understand how hard it is to make a movie, but Zack clearly priorities having EPIC looking moments over a cohesive, consistent story. The Nolan films weren’t good because Nolan is a better director. They are good because there is an emphasis on character development, complex motivations, seamless dialogue, and action that propels the plot.

Snyder, however, props up characters with weak motivations, dour dialogue, and too few establishing shots around insane action and plot events that are hard to follow. In short: Man of Steel and Batman vs Superman were ineptly made at the most basic level. Even if the special effects, fan service, and action were spectacular, these two movies don’t hold up for what they are. AND NOW WE ARE TRAPPED I’ve summed up my feelings towards Suicide Squad, an imperfect movie that I still enjoy, HERE . Doesn’t change the fact that we are now trapped in a cinematic universe that is unaware of the fact that dark and brooding doesn’t mesh well with things like “fun” and “humour.” The only solution I can think of is to get as fast and far away from the current status quo as possible. X-Men 101: Weird Mutants Evolution is a funny thing. While the X-Men are known for their powerful, unique abilities many children of the atom become kinda weird when they hit puberty. The X-gene is interesting as it more or less acts as a genetic wildcard. You may get pimples and energy projection or a voice drop and super strength.

Maybe your chest and jaw will even get blown off by explosive psionic energy. Basically, it’s a crapshoot as to what you will be able to do or how you will look. Today we’re going to talk about some of the weirder mutants in Marvel’s history. Please keep in mind that we’re pulling on over fifty years of comic book history and some characters reflect the aesthetics and errors of previous decades. Let’s start with the obvious. Goldballs is weird. His power is the ability to shoot gold dodgeballs out of his body. It is said that the balls are made of an “unknown substance,” but they are a part of him and are normally shot at high velocity as concussive weapons. He can summon an infinite amount of these balls and they usually have a distinctive “poink” noise to them. Goldballs is also notable for being an overweight hero and a roommate to Miles Morales in the new Spider-man run. X-Men, like other Marvel titles, has been subject to retcons over the years that have made the waters around some characters kinda murky. Xorn is an example of this. Is Xorn an original character? Is he a brainwashed Magneto? Is he a young Jean Grey in disguise?

Introduced in Grant Morrison’s New X-Men run, Xorn was intended to be a mutant with a star for a head who used his powers to heal. Cool concept right? The whole twist was supposed to be that Xorn wasn’t actually a chinese mutant with a star for a head after all. He was Magneto, the thought-dead former leader of Genosha. He stirs some stuff up at the school for gifted youngsters, kills Jean Grey, and has his head chopped off by a very pissed Wolverine. It was bold. It was dramatic. And Marvel spent the better part of a decade trying to undo what was already done. The editors liked Xorn and didn’t want Magneto removed from play. A new volume of Excalibur revealed that Xorn was an imposter Magneto. Oh, and Xorn had a brother named Shen Xorn who looked the exact same and had mostly the same powers, but instead had a black hole where his star-head should be. OG Xorn was supposedly working with Sublime (or was controlled through Kick?) to bring down the X-Men. Shen Xorn, however, was the “good” twin. Also his black hole goes straight to the Mojoverse. Confused?

Welcome to X-Men. Skin is one of those mutants that is there to remind you that mutations can be pretty ugly. He has four to six feet of extra skin on his body. He can stretch it in a bunch of weird ways, but not to the extent Mr. Fantastic can. He can also change the shape of his body, but not the colour of his skin or his height…so, that’s kinda useless. He was crucified by anti-mutant protesters. Similar, but different, Husk has the ability to tear her flesh off. As in, she rips her skin off her body to revealing a different skin type underneath. I actually really like Paige; her Kentucky accent and role as “team overachiever” is pretty endearing. The sad thing about her condition, however, is the secondary mutation she has to deal with during Wolverine and the X-Men: her personality can shift with her changes in skin, which over time had culminated into psychological issues. It gets so bad that she actually starts working for the Hellfire club and has a fling with Toad. Slipstream. Boy, do people ever hate Slipstream. While he could teleport, he required a surfboard to do it.

He was a product of the totally tubular 90s. When television, movies, and – yes – comics were awash in the culture of Californication. And it was lame. Like many mutants, Slipstream lost his powers on M-Day. Let me close by rattling off a few other interesting X-folk who I find interesting, but not enough to talk about in depth: Cypher can decipher any language, written or spoken instinctively. This includes computer code and was eventually retconned into including “body language.” Dazzler can convert sound to light and was introduced as a disco-era superstar. She’s become much more awesome over time and if you think her power is lame I’ll ask you to picture what would happen if she converted Black Bolt’s scream to a light blast. Maggott has two robotic maggots that would feed, enter his abdomen, and provide him with strength and the colour blue. I think he was designed while writers were on LSD. Zeitgeist vomits acid. It is gross. Longneck has a long neck. That’s it. Joseph is another sort-of clone of Magneto. He’s younger and only served as relationship foil for Rogue and Gambit.

Speaking of, Gambit is a cajun thief who can charge objects with kinetic force. He has a pink breast plate a people love him. He’s not powerful, but he’s cool. X-TREME. Remember how I said people hated Slipstream for being way too 90s? No one out-90s the third Summers brother, X-Treme. JK, he was only rumoured to be Scott and Alex’s little brother. In actuality, he was just a lame douche with a backwards baseball hat. There’s another honorable mention, Spiral, but she isn’t actually a mutant so I’ll save that for when we discuss the Mojoverse in a bit more depth. Hopefully you got a taste for how wonderfully weird mutantkind can be and how easy it is for people to look at mutants as monsters. Heroes who fight to save a people who hate them; that’s the X-Men in a nutshell. Film History Milestones - 2003 Event and Significance 2003 By 2003, film studio revenues from home entertainment (i.e., the video market) were much more lucrative than from theatrical, box-office returns.

2003 By mid-March of 2003, DVD rentals first topped those of VHS videotape rental revenues. Many of the studios stopped creating VHS versions of their films, and major retail stores stopped selling VHS versions or releases. 2003 Sofia Coppola was nominated as Best Director for her Best Picture-nominated Lost in Translation (2003), becoming the first American woman nominated for Best Director and only the third woman ever to be nominated for Best Director. 2003 Finding Nemo (2003), produced by Pixar for The Walt Disney Company, bypassed The Lion King (1994) as the highest-grossing animated film of all time, at $340 million (domestic). It received the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film (awarded in 2004). Pixar's $340-million, computer-animated blockbuster was the year's highest-grossing film, and thought at one time to be a possible Best Picture nominee. As of January 2005, it was the bestselling DVD of all time in the world - with 22 million copies sold.

It was the highest-grossing (domestic) G-rated film of all time (until the PG-rated Shrek 2 (2004) surpassed it as the highest-grossing animation of all time in 2004). 2003 Disney announced that it would no longer be producing traditionally-hand-drawn animated feature films, but switching to the 3-D, full-CGI style originally popularized by Pixar. It announced that its feature-length theatrical film animation Brother Bear (2003) was to be the studio's last 2-D animated film. However, Disney's last release in the traditional 2-D animation style was Home on the Range (2004). 2003 Walt Disney Pictures' Ghosts of the Abyss (2003), a James Cameron documentary and Disney's first 3-D picture, was the first full-length 3-D IMAX feature. The film's initial release was limited to big-screen IMAX theaters and movie houses specially equipped to show 3-D features. It was filmed with the Reality Camera System.

2003 Miramax's (and boss Harvey Weinstein's) 11-year run (from 1992-2002) of having at least one Best Picture contender each year ended this year, when Cold Mountain (2003) lacked a Best Picture nomination. This was the longest streak for any studio since the Academy limited the number of Best Picture nominees to five in 1944. 2003 The Terminator character (in the same year that Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) was released), Austrian-born actor Arnold Schwarzenegger succeeded in his first bid for elected office when he beat Governor Gray Davis in California's gubernatorial race (a special recall election) on October 7, 2003, and was sworn in as California's 38th governor on November 17, 2003. He served the remainder of Davis' term and two additional terms, finally leaving office on January 3, 2011.

Then it was discovered that he had engaged in an adulterous affair and fathered a son 14 years earlier with personal employee Mildred Baena, leading to his separation from journalist and author Maria Shriver, a Catholic and member of the extended Kennedy family. 2003 The # 1 highest-grossing (domestic) film of the year was The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) at $377 million, followed by Finding Nemo (2003) at $340 million in the # 2 slot, and the first of many to follow -- Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) at $305.4 million. 2003 The last in The Lord of the Rings trilogy of Tolkein's literary fantasy, The Return of the King (2003) , won Best Picture and Best Director Oscars (awarded in 2004), as well as nine other awards (it won all eleven of its nominations), for New Line Cinema and New Zealander Peter Jackson, among others.

With its eleven Oscars, it tied with Ben-Hur (1959) and Titanic (1997) for the most Oscars ever won by a single film. It also broke the previous record for a sweep (9 wins out of 9 nominations) set by Gigi (1958) and The Last Emperor (1987). Like them, LOTR: The Return of the King lacked nominations in the acting categories. It was the first fantasy film to ever win the top Oscar prize. The film grossed $1 billion in just 9 weeks and 4 days, a new record. In total, the entire LOTR trilogy won 17 Oscars (out of 30 nominations), a $3 billion box-office gross worldwide (they were among the highest grossing films of all time), and some new superstars: virtual Gollum (Andy Serkis), Orlando Bloom and Elijah Wood. Another little-known fact about The Return of the King was that it had a body-count of 836 dead - the highest body-count in a film, to date. [Note: The second highest body-count was in Kingdom of Heaven (2005), at 610.

There were 468 deaths in the second film of the LOTR's trilogy.] In the trilogy of films, the large battle sequences involved more than 200,000 characters, created digitally by MASSIVE software (Multiple Agent Simulation System in Virtual Environment) developed by New Zealand's Weta Digital, a visual effects company. 2003 Director Bernardo Bertolucci's explicitly-rated NC-17 film of sexual discovery and intimacy The Dreamers (2003) was the first NC-17 rated film in 6 years, after the release of the NC-17 rated independent film Orgazmo (1997), Bent (1997, UK) and Cronenberg's Crash (1997). 2003 At the end of the previous decade (in 2000), actor Sylvester Stallone won the Golden Raspberry (Razzie) Award as "The Worst Actor of the Century." By the year 2003, Stallone had compiled a record number of nominations (30) and wins (10) - the actor with the largest number of Razzie nominations and wins.

2003 The American Film Institute (AFI) released the sixth list in its continuing series, 100 Heroes and Villains , to recognize the top 100 movie characters that were heroes or villains (with 50 for each category). The top hero chosen was Atticus Finch (portrayed by Gregory Peck) in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) , and the top villain was Hannibal Lecter (portrayed by Anthony Hopkins) in The Silence of the Lambs (1991) . 2003 Renowned music songwriter and producer Phil Spector pleaded not guilty on November 20, 2003, after being indicted for the February 3, 2003 murder of actress and model Lana Clarkson.

[She had starred in a number of cult science fiction and fantasy films, including Deathstalker (1983) and Barbarian Queen (1985), two Roger Corman-produced works.] Although Spector's first trial resulted in a mistrial-hung jury in September of 2007, he was convicted of the crime of second-degree murder in April of 2009 and sentenced to 19 years in prison. 2003 One of the worst films ever made and a major box-office flop, writer/director Martin Brest's romantic comedy Gigli (2003) was closely scrutinized due to the coupling of its celebrity stars during the film's shoot. The big-budget film was quickly removed after about 3 weeks from circulation in theatres due to its poor reception. It was the first film in the history of the Golden Raspberry (Razzie) Awards to win in its five major categories - a "grand slam sweep": Worst Picture, Worst Actor (Ben Affleck), Worst Actress (Jennifer Lopez), Worst Director, and Worst Screenplay -- and it also won 'Worst Screen Couple', for a total of six wins.

It was also honored in 2005 as the 'Worst Comedy' in the first 25 years of the Razzie Awards. Tabloids were addicted to the 'supercouple,' dubbed by the name-blend "Bennifer" (a combination of Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez). 2003 A new generation of comic male actors, dubbed the 'Frat Pack' or 'Slacker Pack' (Jack Black, Will Ferrell, Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, and Owen and Luke Wilson) emerged in the 2000s, and appeared together in many films, including Old School (2003), actor/director/producer Stiller's own Zoolander (2001), Dodgeball (2004) and Tropic Thunder (2008).

2003 The New York Times reported that five months after the start of the Iraq War, the special operations department of the Pentagon held an informational screening in late August, 2003 of director Gillo Pontecorvo's controversial The Battle of Algiers (1966) about terrorist insurgency, to acquire strategic insight from French operations and challenges during the Algerian War (1954-1962). The Pentagon's blurb stated: "How to win a battle against terrorism and lose the war of ideas. ... Children shoot soldiers at point blank range. Women plant bombs in cafes. Soon the entire Arab population builds to a mad fervor. Sound familiar? The French have a plan. It succeeds tactically, but fails strategically. To understand why, come to a rare showing of this film." 2003 Actor Gregory Peck died at the age of 87 on June 12, 2003.

He had won an Academy Award for Best Actor for To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) and had received four other Best Actor nominations, for The Keys of the Kingdom (1945), The Yearling (1946), Gentleman's Agreement (1947), and Twelve O'clock High (1949). 2003 Top female legend and actress Katharine Hepburn, four-time Academy Award winner for Best Actress, died at the age of 96 on June 29, 2003. During her long career of 62 years, she had received a total of 12 Oscar nominations, and was the only performer in Academy history to have won four Academy Awards for acting.

Question: In American Film Institute's list of the top 50 movie heroes, the number one hero, Atticus Finch, was from which film?
Answer: To Kill A Mockingbird